North Carolina – Republicans
Under Pat’s Skin
Walter Dalton’s feisty debate performance gave his campaign a spark and got under Pat McCrory’s skin. That’s a weakness that would hurt McCrory in the Governor’s office. If McCrory didn’t like Dalton’s questions and attacks, wait until the media gets after him. And that’s just a matter of time in a media culture that…
Read MoreHoping for a Crash
Here is a debate preview from a TAPster who combines the best qualities of Carter and me: namely, hating both parties equally: “Political dweebs everywhere will gather around their TVs Wednesday night for the much-anticipated debates between the North Carolina gubernatorial candidates and the Obama-Romney showdown. “The NC debate is meaningless. The two…
Read More“No Party” Wins
If you wonder which party is riding a voter registration tide, here’s your answer: Neither. More than half of the new voters in North Carolina are Unaffiliated. Since December 2011, some 266,000 new voters have registered in the state. Of those, 53.4 percent (142,209) registered as Unaffiliated. Slightly more registered Republican than Democratic – 61,903…
Read MoreLoose Lips
The downside of drawing safe districts is that you get unsafe candidates. Like Republican House candidate Debra Conrad, who told a group in Winston-Salem: “Unfortunately, the more money you raise and give to the speaker, the better committee assignment you get.” Her comments were reported in YES! Weekly by Jordan Green. They came Tuesday…
Read MoreRadical Extremists in the Suburbs
If Mitt Romney feels like he’s up to his hips in alligators – he ought to consider the alligators that have chomped down on poor Tony Tata. Two years ago, the newly elected Republican School Board made short shift of the old School Superintendent and hired Tata. Then the Democrats won the next election…
Read MoreTaking Out Tata
Even strong Democrats believe the Wake school board flunked this test. The board majority may have done the right thing, but they sure did it the wrong way. And Democrats may pay the price. It was a mistake to fire Tony Tata without first setting out a bill of particulars. You can’t fire a…
Read MoreRocking for Rouzer
It’s a fad: Paul Ryan put his mother on TV, then David Rouzer put his grandmother on TV, then Tom Murray (who’s running for State House) put his mother in a TV ad. So which will folks say, ‘No one knows him better than his mother’ – or – ‘Does that mean he couldn’t get…
Read MoreDalton’s Hope
Watching the Dalton and McCrory TV ads, you see the opening that Dalton could exploit if he has enough time and money. McCrory’s ads are content-free. Apparently, he’s going to solve unemployment and $4 gas by drilling everywhere under our feet and off the coast. And he’s responsible for Charlotte’s success. How would he…
Read MoreMr. Bowles Goes to Washington
Here’s betting that, whoever wins the presidential race, Erskine Bowles ends up in Washington. He’s being mentioned as Obama’s Secretary of Treasury. And wouldn’t Mitt Romney be smart to put Bowles – a Southern, Clinton Democrat – in a top position? Maybe Treasury, Budget Director or something out of the box like Defense? …
Read MoreDalton on the Job
Walter Dalton put out a strong, thoughtful and comprehensive jobs plan this week. It was long on good ideas, but – unfortunately – short on political punch. It illustrates the challenge Democrats face in a short-attention span age. Republicans have the virtue of brevity and simplicity, if not quality. Pat McCrory has a bumper-sticker…
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